The present invention relates generally to separating components from a mixture containing a combination of organic and inorganic materials. More particularly the present invention is directed to a process and apparatus for removing organic components from a mixture containing a combination of organic and inorganic materials, which process and apparatus involves the use of an induction heated screw mechanism.
Waste materials can be processed to remove organics therefrom. Hydrocarbons can be removed from waste materials using a variety of different apparatus including incinerators, boilers, cement kilns and other combustion devices. The ability of these apparatus/devices to process wastes materials and remove organics economically is limited by the concentration of any organics in the waste materials and the compatibility of the inorganic materials with the apparatus/device that is used to process the waste material. Any inorganic material(s) present in the waste material usually cannot be recovered for reuse even if such inorganic material(s) have some reuse value. Often the only option available for processing these waste materials is to either incinerate them at a high cost or to dispose of them in a landfill.
The following U.S. patents exemplify various systems and process that use inductive thermal screw mechanisms: U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,135 to Borden, U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,106 to Borden, U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,749 to Serpelloni et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,863 to Meador, U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,398 to Serpelloni et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,360 to Self et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,487,843 to Tomczyk, U.S. Pat. No. 6,840,712 to Satchwell et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 7,028,746 to Akers et al. The following published pending U.S. patent applications also exemplify various systems and process that use inductive thermal screw mechanisms: 2002/0170696 to Akers et al., 2003/0228196 to Satchwell et al., 2008/0136066 to Taylor et al., 2009/0004318 to Taylor et al., 2009/0179064 to Lee et al., 2009/0249641 to Graham et al., 2009/0281202 to Eyster et al.
The present invention provides a process and apparatus for separating two or more components from a mixture containing a combination of organic and inorganic materials, which process and apparatus involves the use of an induction heated screw mechanism.